The Disappearing Act (Vampire Academy Fan Fiction Book 2)

Chapter 18: A Phone Call

Chapter 18: A Phone Call

                I couldn’t help wondering what Dimitri was doing. He was probably asleep; curled up with Annessa and blissfully unaware that I’d run away from him. He really couldn’t blame me, though; he was the one that taught me to run in the first place.

                The wedding band weighed heavily on my fingers as they twisted in my lap. The metal burned against the skin, reminding me of a promise I’d fought to keep for as long as I could remember. I had sworn myself to him before we’d been married; I’d sworn to always be his before I even knew I was in love with him. That promise went back to days at the Academy, before I’d known I’d give my entire heart over to him; it wove through years of happiness, of complete and total disaster, and of love. I would never love anyone as much as him.

                Closing my eyes, I let my forehead rest against the car window and embrace the heat of the morning sun. The scorching was soothing; I needed some kind of pain to fill the emptiness taking over inside.

                Cassie’s hand covered mine, stopping my fidgeting. She didn’t say anything or even turn her head to look at me; she just squeezed my fingers and let the silence convey her words.

No one had spoken for over an hour. We’d worked out a plan in minutes and then retreated back into our heads, each lost in thoughts that the other wouldn’t understand. Eddie’s face was somber, Mia was scribbling in a notebook, and Cassie and I were looking out the windows.

We were a motley band of heroes.

Every mile we got closer to Vegas, I could feel my heartbeat picking up. It raced with anticipation for this mission and the ache of leaving Dimitri behind. I couldn’t tell which hurt more.

Mia’s phone began blaring, shattering the silence around us. None of us jumped; we just shifted to get a better view of her as she pulled the cell out of her pocket. I couldn’t see her face, but I could practically feel the scowl that came onto her lips.

“Dimitri or the Queen?” Eddie asked calmly, his eyes firmly on the road. It was completely empty, yet he was as tense as if he was driving in the middle of rush hour. The phone started its second cycle of the ringtone.

“Dimitri,” Mia answered. I could feel my heart thumping in my throat. “Rose, do you want–“

                Him back? To turn around and race to the hotel room? To promise never to run away from him again?

“No,” I answered quietly as I turned my forehead back to the window. “No, I don’t.”

                I didn’t think it was possible, but the words hurt as much as watching him get bitten by a Strigoi.

                Mia ignored the call and the silence became a noose once again, wrapping its slimy fingers around my throat and squeezing as my heart continued to break. I couldn’t breathe; I couldn’t find the will to anymore.

                My phone went off next. It buzzed on the seat between Cassie and me, the screen bright with a picture of Dimitri in Paris. He had sunglasses on and was holding up a long piece of bread he’d called a baguette but I’d called a breaded light saber. He’d always found a way to make me smile, even when our lives were at stake. How was I supposed to keep running without him?

                I looked at the phone, my Guardian mask tightly in place. Without asking, Cassie reached down and pressed the ignore button.

“You think he’ll try us?” she asked, the question aimed at Mia. I stared at the blank screen while they spoke.

“Maybe yours,” Mia answered and I could feel her looking at me through the side mirror. I kept my gaze out on the road. “We should turn them off anyway. We don’t need them going off in there.”

“You’re right,” Eddie said back and tossed his phone to Cassie. She grabbed mine, silencing all three of them and tucking them into her jacket pockets. After a moment, she tried in vain to change the subject. “Are we going to stop and change before–“    

“It’s day time,” Mia interrupted. “We aren’t exactly going clubbing now.”

                Cassie just nodded and returned to looking out the window.

               

                We hit the beginning of the traffic flooding into Vegas, even now. The family tourists were awake with their kids, fathers hung over and mothers fussing in the passenger’s seat. We looked strange mixed with them, a group of adults who looked more somber than vacationers ever should.

“There’s too many people, Mia,” I commented quietly, eyes roving over the cars zipping up and down the streets. They were headed for the few family-friendly places around here.

“They won’t be by the clubs,” she answered sharply.

With a smirk, Eddie added, “The kids aren’t old enough to get into the bars.”

                It was a dry joke that no one but Cassie bothered to laugh at.

“You all remember the plan?” Mia prompted, pulling her hair back into a ponytail. She was preparing for battle with her sunglasses and hidden weapons.

“Get in, get Jill, and get out,” I repeated, sitting taller myself. We all had to be ready for this.

                Eddie nodded. “Me and Mia will stay in the club. You guys okay on your own?”

“We’ll be fine,” Cassie said as she slid sunglasses onto her nose. “Promise you won’t kill him, Mia?”

                I couldn’t hide a smirk at the annoyed scowl that was on Mia’s lips.

“Just be careful,” she retorted, turning in her seat to meet my gaze. “You specifically.”

                Rolling my eyes, I smiled innocently. “Yes, Mother.”

“We’ll be fine, Mom,” Cassie added, mimicking my expression.

                Mia frowned and slumped back into her seat with a huff as Eddie turned down the street of the club.

                We all braced ourselves as he drove down the empty street, the sign for the Black Cat sticking out among the others. My throat tightened at the memories of being here with Dimitri; that kiss he’d given me hadn’t seemed important then, but it meant the world now. It was one of our last ones we’d shared as the Dhampir Bonnie and Clyde.  

“Welcome to Vegas, ladies,” Eddie announced and pulled over in front of the club.

                He cut the engine and the only thing I could hear was my heart hammering in my head.